how to move large tank safely?

lesleyanndunn · Post by **lesleyanndunn** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:10 pm

i need to move my fahaka tank to get a new floor laid and also to do some decorating
so would need to move the tank to another place in the house for 24 hrs.

any advice whats the best way to do this?
regarding the fish, not killing the bacteria in the tank and the plants etc.

i couldnt drain, move then fill up again in a different room.
then drain, move back then fill up again.
would take alot of buckets of water and alot of muscle

was thinking about putting the fahaka 7" into a smaller tank with a smaller cycled filter from the big tank for 24 hrs, would that work?

J-P · Post by **J-P** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:20 pm

how big is the tank?

lesleyanndunn · Post by **lesleyanndunn** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:37 pm

its uk 400litres, i dont know what it is in US gallonS?

J-P · Post by **J-P** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:44 pm

about 100 ~ 105 USG.

What I used to move my big guy was 2 sets of these:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4 ... ?locale=en

If you can find a dolly set it makes life a lot easier.

nile puffer lover · Post by **nile puffer lover** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:57 pm

you could rent jacks and dollys from a rental store and jack the tank up on all sides and put the four wheel carts under them and move it that way and then just put it back in the reverse order i have rented these jacks and dollys before and it was not that expensive they are called toe jacks

J-P · Post by **J-P** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:03 pm

the hardest part I found was getting the jack under the tank / stand to begin with. Once the jacks were in place it was a breeze to slip the dollies under it.

lesleyanndunn · Post by **lesleyanndunn** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:44 pm

this with water in the tank?

nile puffer lover · Post by **nile puffer lover** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:44 pm

these toe jacks are only like a 1/4 thick from bottom to top on the lifting surface so if the carpet is coming out any ways just cut it out there and inset the jacks

J-P · Post by **J-P** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:45 pm

lesleyanndunn wrote:this with water in the tank?

no... 1/4 ~ 1/2 full.

JRC3 · Post by **JRC3** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 10:13 pm

On a tank that big I would remove the fish and as much water as possible. When I move tanks I use some of these on my hardwood floors and they also make other ones for carpet.

And I lift the stand up just enough to get them under with a flat bar.

But don't just lift a corner at a time, lift one whole side at a time.

nile puffer lover · Post by **nile puffer lover** » Sat Jan 29, 2011 11:25 pm

the way i stated, if the floor was relativly smooth, you could move the tank while it was full with no promlems aslong as you made sure the dollys stayed under there respective corners.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:07 am

Start doing some major water changes on the tank, to get it as close to tap water as possible. Then do as you said: drain, move, fill, drain, move, fill. Use a Python.

lesleyanndunn · Post by **lesleyanndunn** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 8:49 am

thanks PP!
I dont have a python, wish I did lol
the move wont be for a few months yet, so looking into getting a python!
otherwise it will be buckets!

bigfatfish · Post by **bigfatfish** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:48 pm

If you find a python over here, let me know! I have not yet been able to find anywhere that stocks them.

lesleyanndunn · Post by **lesleyanndunn** » Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:58 pm

i thought u could buy from america and they ship it over?
i saw a few on ebay, but they stated they were out of stock
would make tank cleaning a hell of a lot easier!
i would need to get a mixer tap on though, atm i have separate hot and cold taps

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